Media Control

This is the first election season where I've followed candidates for President this early in the season, first time I've watched the debates, etc. And I have been shocked by the media control over the election. On the Democratic side, Edwards never had a chance; the media largely ignored him since he wasn't a minority. The media decided early on that it would be a battle between Clinton and Obama and therefore, only covered those candidates.

The same has happened on the Republican side. They tried to exclude Paul from the debates but couldn't because he was consistently doing as well or better than Giuliani, who the media wanted to cover. I love that Paul is still in this race, despite what the media has tried to do. As of last week, Huckabee wasn't considered worthy of debate either. All of the questions at the debate were directed to McCain and Romney.

The moderators of the debates are unfair in their coverage of the candidates, rarely letting the underdogs have more than 10 seconds every 10 questions or so. The candidates jump on the band wagon and sneer at the underdogs when they are given the opportunity to speak, as if they don't deserve to share the same stage.

Voters on either side of the political spectrum should be appalled. Appalled that you have far less choice in the presidential candidates than you think. If you only hear from certain candidates while others are not allowed air time, you are more likely to vote for those candidates, especially when the media tries to make the underdogs look crazy. The media focuses on finding a story, and they don't seem to care about whether their stories are true or complete. I believe the majority of the media has lost its way and no longer serves its function in society. I again urge everyone to do some research this election season and try to understand what the candidates truly stand for and what they are likely to do for this country. You can no longer rely on the media for straight-forward, honest covereage.